Johnny Marr and Charli XCX write songs for new Blondie album

Sia and Albert Hammond Jr. have also contributed tracks for 'Ghosts of Download' follow up

Jordan Hughes/NME

Blondie have gathered an all-star cast of songwriters for their new album.

Charli XCX and Sia are among those who have submitted songs for the album, which will be produced by St. Vincent and Sigur Rós collaborator John Congleton.

Johnny Marr and Strokes’ guitarist Albert Hammond Jr have also written for the as yet untitled record. Speaking to Charli XCX as part of her pre-recorded Beats 1 show The Candy Shop, Blondie’s Chris Stein said that the tracks are all finished and Debbie Harry just “needs to sing more.”

Listing the names he and his bandmates are working with on the follow-up to 2014’s ‘Ghosts of Download’, Stein continued: “Sia and that guy from the Strokes wrote a song that we have on there. Johnny Marr, we have a Johnny Marr track that we really like.”

Debbie Harry qualified that the Sia track is “amazing” and said “it lifts right into this chorus,” and added that she’d “love to have Ludacris” on the song if possible.

Charli XCX has submitted two tracks for the record while Stein added that Kanye West could make an apperance too. “We had a phone conversation with Kanye, Debbie’s met him once or twice, and he’s so nice. I went into it not knowing what to expect because of all the stuff you know, but he was great. He was very humble and nice, I like what he does.”